Archive for May, 2009

Last night’s Graffiti Film Festival came to a closing, and the presentations rocked! Coming full circle from the 60′s, 70′s, 80′s, 90′s and today’s Graffiti culture movement. Much respect to the pioneers, the one’s who keep it alive, and the newschool for keeping a changing world fresh. As much as we EACH need to research, learn, and respect our past generations we also hope the past researches, learns, and respects the future generations. Diversity needs to be celebrated, it’s whatÂ keeps things full of meat & potatoes! Dialogues at these events help the public gain an understanding of the choices made by artists worldwide to live out their existence the way they want! In the Spraymasters movie Lee QuiĂ±ones said something I really enjoyed: “EVERY GENERATION CREATES THE ART THEY DESERVE” If not for the individuals who brave it out, and redefine what’s important to them we would not have the biggest arts culture movement of all time. It’s really that simple;)

Shout out to a new generation of mighty suspects DESTROY & REBUILD keeping the streets FRESH!

Seems like this year there’s going to be a lot more BBQ’s than ever. SUMMER MADNESS is in the air. Kicked off Memorial Day weekend at the Rebel Diaz Arts Collective in the Boogie Down Bronx with Circa95 on live feed radio. If you caught it you saw everything under the sun ( eeek! ) from grilling some pollo, corona sipping, and the 4/20 fresstyle sessions from the crew. Kids got down too! Great way to bring families, art, food, and community together to enjoy the sun!

The tech savvy crew…

Most of our tweeps ( peeps on twitter ) are online these days. It’s like we’re all hanging out together:) FREAKS…yes…

How else would we round up the troops!

Shout out to Patty Dukes & Rephstar and the Circa95 Crew / Rebel Diaz Arts Collective for setting off a caliente summer!!!

Inking away at some new T’ concepts I have coming up for a TOOFLY/UPPER PLAYGROUND line. I feel like I’ve been channeling some dope energy in the last few weeks, and it’s speaking an immense universe to me. The process of making original art off the dome is pure magic. Tapping into the “zone” doesn’t come often if your not in tune, or focused. You gotta flow when it comes, and close yourself off from all distractions if your about it about it…

Got an invitation from my hommie Jessica Green while I was away to do a short presentation with Destroy&Rebuild following the SPRAY MASTERS film screening. Gonna try and bridge our 90′s foundation with the present state of urban arts culture / education alongside some of the pioneers who paved the way for us:) Jessica’s been mad supportive of the positive roles we play in helping to preserve, evolve, and continue this story. Since the golden days of STRESS ( Best magazine EVER!!! ) all has not been lost! Whew. Happy to see her and the crew on the inside of these events. We def need more folks from our own community, in it! Makes a HUUUUUUUGE difference. Thanks girl!.

KINGS OF THE CITY ( Shouldn’t it be KINGS & QUEENS OF THE CITY? I’m just saying…)
Wednesday, May 27 20097:00 pm
Maylesfilms
343 Lenox Ave, Harlem NY
(127th and 128th streets)www.mayslesinstitute.org

FILM:Tunnel Vision
Dir. Reid van Renesse, 2003, 2 min.
This short film with footage shot in 1983 shows Zephyr, Min One and Revolt painting a wall. Reid van Renesse will be present for the q&a.

FILM:SprayMasters
Dir. Manfred Kirchheimer, 2008, 85 min.
SprayMasters follows up on some legendary writers from the 70s and 80s. The film includes Lady Pink, Lee, Futura 2000 and Zephyr and lots and lots of trains. Manfred Kirchheimer will be present for the q&a.

NEW YORK, NY (May 12, 2009) â€“ The Hip-Hop Association, in collaboration with the Center for Multicultural Education and Programs at New York University, proudly presents the Womanhood Passage Fundraiser, a special evening acknowledging the strength, beauty, leadership, challenges, and successes of women in Hip-Hop. With an exquisite rooftop view of Washington Square Park and New York City, the event will take place at NYUâ€™s Rosenthal Pavilion, located in the Kimmel Center, from 7pm-10pm on Thursday, June 25, 2009.

Every May babe and I give ourselves a well deserved vacation to paradise. This year it came close to being canceled due to the swine flu nonsense. Whew! glad I’m don’t fall for all that media bull crap on TV. It’s a good thing the politics and truth leaks out enough for us to be aware of what is really going on. Anyway…Playa Del Carmen in Mayan Riviera in Mexico was a BLAST!!! Pure Bliss:) Hotel La Tortuga & Spa was a beautiful cozy hotel just a few blocks away from the white sandy beach, local boutiques/shops, and a variety of restaurants. If your looking for a quick 4hr trip to paradise from NYC, easy on the wallet this is the place to be!!!

Evening at the strip full of lights, candlelight dinners, and mariachi bands…

Can’t go wrong with Filet Mignon for half the price you pay in the states. Must of had it more than once with a glass of fresh papaya juice…

Closing the evenings off with walks down the beach.

XEL-HA See it, and do it all in one place…

All I gotta say is they filmed the Blue Lagoon movie here…

A must! I still can’t believe we swam around this whole place in 7 hours.

We got to go inside naturally formed underwater caves, snorkle with a pool of colorful fish, jump off a cliffs, and relax down a river of naturally formed vine tunnels…NATURE ROCKS!!!

Wish they made water cameras digital…at the CVS as we speak! ( water cameras suck only these 2 were decent rest too dark:(

Okay yea back tot he logistics here…this is an all inclusive spot. Our suggestion just take the $3.00 van there, and pay the entrance which is cheap for what you get. Otherwise you’ll get a tour that will cost you like $100 a person. You can do it in half if you troop it on your own there. Not far, 30min from Playa Del Carmen. Go!!!

All kinds of good grub here…our favorite shrimp tacos.

The place was ours literally. Tourism was hit hard down here do to all the media hype about the fake flu. A lot of people cancelled their vacations to Mexico because they got caught up in the hype. Places like this where almost ghost town. It’s sad because people truly love their towns, and want to see it grow and flourish. They want to be able to earn a living in their own country, off their own natural resources. Tourism helps them do that and helps them preserve it for future generations. Then you wonder what the hell you expect people to do to survive and earn a living to feed their families if you go messing with their country and economy by taking that away from them. Pisses me off. Sigh…At least we left a bit of our crappy dollar over there:)

TULUM one of the best-preserved coastal Maya archaeological site…

We were tight on our budget by the 4th day so we decided to troop it on our own and hop in the $3 van to Tulum. Only 30 min away, a$5 entrance fee, and we were walking on Tulum’s ruins. A historic Mayan land. We had no idea about the gem hidden behind the ruins. Glad we brought our bathing suits!

The Iguanas everywhere lead the way there…

Never seen a beach so beautiful…

We stayed here almost all day…

Soft sand all the way into the deep turk crystal blue water of the carribean sea. Fell asleep by the shades of the rocks. You need no umbrella or chair, it’s all straight up chill with what you got! the best part of going there on your own is that once the tourists groups leave you were alone. No guide to tell you it’s time to go…you leave when you want:)

We stayed pretty long on this one. Didn’t make it to the cenotes:( underwater caves. The only thing I forgot to do…next time!

The closest town out is 15-30 min walk if you get hungry like we did so we had to head out:( You won’t find anything else but the ruins, and the stairs down to the beach. THAT’ IT!Â It’s what helps preserve the natural landscape so plan accordingly eat & drink some mangu or something to last your swims and naps until you have to really really bounce…

I wasn’t able to make it to the ESTRIA GRAFFITI BATTLE, but to show my support I’m posting some flicks taken by one of our Younity artist on the scene STEPHANIE LAND. Thanks girl! My peoples def repped at the event everyone’s piece was dope! Best part of it all is that everyone involved are good peoples. Happy to see our own community coming together and spreading the green living messages. STAY ALIVE and use your creative aerosol talents to spread the message. Def check Estria’s event next time it’s in NY. Chicago and Hawaii next!!!

Back in town! whew…got lot’s to catch up especially my blog updates. Totally missed out on the Estria Graffiti Battle last Saturday. I planned on supporting all my peeps painting but mom dukes was in town for a surprise visit and I couldn’t swing it;( Spending time with la familia is #1, especially since I had one day to see her and my Freddy before my Mexico trip.

Love my momz! She’s so cute, and hella supportive of everything we do and choose to do. Been on her own since day 1. Her independence, kind heart, and and creative spirit lights our way. Plus she loves her Mocha Frap. Starbucks junkies!

Mom and Freddy lovebirds through thick and thin:)

Pestola as some of you know, lol. Aka Freddy. Rocker all the way, silly rebel without a cause. Never leaves home without a rock T, mini phone, and ipod shuffle.

La Familia de feas y feos, now all we need is some little feos in the mix;)

Got an opportunity to rock one of my graffiti youth workshops this past weekend at the Brooklyn Public Library. Glad the sun came out again it was a great day to chill in downtown Brooklyn…

If only more public spaces were down…

ENSHRINED…love that word:)

The kids were much younger this time around, but all 25 were ready for: MY NAME IS!

It never ceases to amaze me how important the visual arts are for the development of the self…

IDS rocked his piece, and custom painters hat. He took over the whole page with no fear just full on expression…

Now I see where he get’s it from his MOM’s dope!!! Great kids happy I did the workshop it had been a minute:) Shout out to Angeli R. Rasbury; lawyer, writer, educator, and artist for hooking up these wonderful workshops at the Youth Wing every 1st Saturday of the month at 2PM at the Brooklyn Public Library.